1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a recording/playback apparatus that can hold a plurality of recording medium and can record and play back data signals on and from the recording medium. The invention also relates to a data library.
2. Description of the Related Art
Hitherto, to process a large amount of data in various ways in a computer system, it is necessary to back up the data stored in the server. Generally, the data is backed up on optical discs such as compact discs (CD: registered trademark) or on magneto-optical discs. If the data is too large to be recorded on an optical discs, it may be recorded on a tape cassettes for so-called xe2x80x9c8-mm videoxe2x80x9d (registered trademark). One tape cassette can store about 50 GB (gigabytes) to 100 GB of data.
However, much time is required to make access to the desired data recorded in a tape cassette. Therefore, only the data used frequently is recorded on an optical disc, whereas all data including the data used not so often is recorded in a tape cassette.
A recording/playback apparatus called xe2x80x9cdata libraryxe2x80x9d has been proposed as a recording/playback apparatus that is useful for backing up such data. The data library comprises a plurality of tape cassettes, any one of which may be selected so that data signals may be recorded in it or played back from it.
This recording/playback apparatus comprises a cassette storage section, a recording/playback section, and a transport section. The cassette storage section can hold a plurality of tape cassettes. The recording/playback section is designed to record data in the tape cassettes and play back data therefrom. The transport section transports tape cassettes between the cassette storage section and the recording/playback section.
In a recording/playback apparatus of this type, the recording medium is identified and managed in accordance with the codes, e.g., barcodes (registered trademark), labeled on the recording medium. That is, the codes on the medium is optically read and the medium is identified and managed on the basis of the information thus read.
Optical readers for reading codes, known as xe2x80x9cbarcode readers,xe2x80x9d can hardly be made small. Their manufacturing cost is high. Further, the amount of information that one barcode can represent cannot be so large.
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a recording/playback apparatus that can use a large amount of information to manage recording medium and is simple in structure. Another object of the invention is to provide a data library in which a large amount of information recording medium can be used and managed.
To achieve the above-mentioned object, a recording/playback apparatus comprises: a housing; a storage mechanism having a rotary member and a plurality of storage sections and arranged in front of the housing, for storing a plurality of recording medium, said rotary member being able to rotate around a vertical axis and in a horizontal plane, and said storage sections being arranged around the rotary member, for storing a plurality of recording medium; an insertion port made in a front panel of the housing, for allowing a recording medium to be inserted and removed, at the front of the housing, into and from any one of the storage sections that is located at near the front of the housing; a recording/playback section for recording and reproducing data on and from the recording medium; a transport mechanism arranged at the back of the storage mechanism, for transporting the recording medium between any one of the recording/playback section and any one of the storage sections that is located at the back of the housing; a control circuit section connected to the storage mechanism, the recording/playback section and the transport mechanism, for controlling the storage mechanism, the recording/playback section and the transport mechanism; and transmitting/receiving means for transmitting and receiving data signals to and from a memory means provided in any one of the recording medium and storing management data, without contacting the memory means and by way of an antenna, and for transmitting the data obtained from the recording medium to the control circuit section.
The antenna is located near the storage mechanism and at a specific position. So located, the antenna can transmit and receive data signals to and from the memory means provided in any recording medium, before the recording medium inserted into a storage section of the storage mechanism through the insertion port is completely transported to the transport mechanism as the rotary member of the storage mechanism is rotated.
As described above, in the recording/playback apparatus according to this invention, antenna is located near the storage mechanism and at such a position as to transmit and receive data signals to and from the memory means provided in any recording medium, before the recording medium inserted into a storage section of the storage mechanism through the insertion port is completely transported to the transport mechanism as the rotary member of the storage mechanism is rotated.
Hence, in the recording/playback apparatus to this invention, when the storage mechanism finishes transporting a storage medium to the transport mechanism, the management data has already been read from the memory means of the recording medium.
The present invention can therefore provide a recording/playback apparatus and a data library, which can use a large amount of information to manage recording medium as management data before the recording medium is inserted into the drive and which is simple in structure.